Autoplane.



G. H. CRTISS.

AUTOPLANE.

APPLIcAnoN FILED FEB.|4,1917.

atented Feb. 18, 1919.

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@WW1/woz GLENN H .Cum-s55- H. CURTISS.'

AUTOPLANE.

APPLICATION man FEB. 14, lsu. LQMASQ Patent@ Feb. 18, w19.

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SLeNN'H-CUET\SS I in AUTOPLANE. APPLICATION FILED 1:58.14. 1917.

Eanted Feb. 18, ww.

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AUTOPLANE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 14, 1917.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

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GLENN H. CURTISS, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CURTISS AEROPLANEAND MOTOR CORPORATION, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

AUT OPLANE.

Specication of Letters Patent.v

Application led February 14, 1917. VSerial No. 148,506.

To all Awiwm it may concern 'Be it known that I, GLENNH. CURTISS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, inthe county of Erieand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Autoplanes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to aircraft, and has reference more particularly toimprovements in aerial vehicles of4 the autoplane type.

In machines of passenger carrying capacity the question of weightdistribution and passenger accommodation is important, especially sinceproper longitudinal balance and comfort must be co-incidentlyconsidered. The usual type of land machine is equipped with seats"arranged in tandem or seats arranged side by side. Only in very rareinstances has there been constructed a practical machine in whichaccommodation for more than two is provided. Another serious objectionto the type of machines now existing is that no provision is made forthe housing of the occupants. The usual fuselage or nacelle ischaracterized by an absence of conveniences and equipment, especiallynecessary for comfort and pleasure ldurin Hight in cold or inclementweather. oth the pilot and passengers are partly, if not entirely,exposed, and body movements of the crew 0r occupants seeminglyunnecessarily restricted. Speed and not comfort seems to have been theprime desideratuin in the design of aeroplanes heretofore. As acommercial and pleasure craft the aeroplane has been under-developed.Thel demand for military machines overwhelmingly directed developmentalong that line.

This invention. however` aims to overcome the. detects and objectiomiblefeatures above pointed out and instead 'provide what. may

be termed a combined social and tandem seater. that is. u machine havingits seats ar ranged not only one in advance of the other, but also sideby side. As a pleasure craft the invention secksto introduce into theaeronautical art the many comforts and convcniences now present in theautomobile art. ln lieu of the fuselage or nacelle the body of the craftis constructed in sedan or coup style. both passengers and pilot beingcoinpletcly incloscd and protected. rl`wo sets ot longitudinallyseparated independently acting landing gear wheels are provided. tlacliset is equipped with shock absorber elastics, the forward wheels beinghereinafter referred to as the steering wheels. Directly over theforward steering wheels the power plant or motor is disposed and aft ofthe motor is arranged the passenger carrying conipartment ofthe sedanbody. The rear landing gear wheels underlie said body. Since the machineis of the pusher type with the propeller mounted and the propeller axisin a plane considerably above the plane of the t'orc and aft axis of themotor. said shaft extends rearwardly from the motor, through the body,beneath the pilots seat, and between the passengers seats, terminatingaft within said body adjacent its after end. A multiple number of beltstransmit power from said shat't to the propeller oi' drive shaft whichis comparatively short and mounted as intimated above and at the extremerear end ot' said body. By this arrangement the plane otl revolution ofthe propeller is sutliciently removed from the ground to avoid contacttherewith and this without correspondingly elevating the motor. A fueltank is built into the top of the body and in the vertical plane of thecenter ot' gravity, said bodv with the tank inclosed. being effectuallystream lined throughout.

Triplane wings characterize the machine. The intermediate wings extendright and left from the body adjacent its top. the upper wings right andleft troni a point above said top, and the lower wings rightand left.from the body adjacent the rear landing 'gear wheels.

These wings. together with auxiliary stub wings. mounted in the vicinityot' the forward landing gear wheels. constitute the total supportingsurface area ot the craft. rlhe wing beams ot' the lower andintermediate wings of the triplane structure are ot' the built-in type,also the wing beams ot' the auxiliary wings. The resultant center-ofaeroplane lit't is thus brought foiwvard to lic approximately in thetransverse ver`s tical plane ot the center ot' gravity. Perfect balanceis in this wa\ obtained.

The cinpcnnage ot thc craft is supported out from the rear end of thesedan body by outriggers or spurs extending rearwardly from theintermediate wings. one at each side ot' both the propeller and saidbody. The details of thc various parts herein enudirectly att of thebody.

said body,

Fig. 6 1s an assembly view' in side ele vation, of said body,

Fig; '7 is a section on the line 7--7l of Figf, and

Fig. 8 is a top plan View of the connecting rod'leads ot the steeringmechanism.

ln the embodiment of the 'invention selected for illustration 10designates in its entirety the sedan body, said body in side elevationhaving lines quite similar to the now used limousine or sedan ltype otanto.- inobile. Three, instead of two, sets ot longerons characterizethe body, the upper longerons lbeing designated as 11, the intermediatelongerons as 12 and the lower longerons as 13. The intermediate andlower longerons extend Jforwardly considerably beyond the plane of theforward end ot the upper longerons l1 and the said lower longerons 13terminate rearwardly in a plane forwardly' removed from the plane ot''the rear end of the intermediate and upper lon! gerons 12 and 11. Thecorresponding longerons of the intermediate and upper longerons areparallel throughout. ln each instance said longerons are bowed in ahorizontal plane (see Fig. to intersect or meet at their rearward end.The lower longcrons although horizontally bowed,` do not inter sect inthe vertical plane of the point ot in` terseetion of the upper andintermediate longerons, the point ot intersection ot the lower longeronsbeing forwardly removed. There is thus evolved in plan an aeroplane bodyof elfectual streamlinerpore and att, said bndy, in cross section,having' its greatest width somewhat in advance ot its vertical axis, thewidth, rearwardly from the transverse vertical plane of said axis,taperingto an edge at the extreme after end. The lower longeron's 13 arecontinued or prolonged rearwardly and upwardly 'tor secureinent byappropriate means to 'the intermediate and upper longer-ons. a iet-ernpost 111 curved downwardly and 'forwardly at its lower end, beingutilized tor that purpose.

Appropriate vertically and horizontally extending body struts 15 and 16and tie wires 17 cross arranged in intersecting planes interbrace thelongerons 'from .end to end and form therewith the skeleton oit the.sedan body. For maximum strength ilie rertieal body Struts 15interconnectinnA nasa-'iis speetively the upper and the intermediate andthe intermediate and lower longerons are alined. i

Engine bed beams 18 are arranged to extend forwardly beyond thecorresponding end of the sedan body. Said beams at their rearward endsare supported between extraheavy fuselage struts 19 equipped'withinwardly extending and inwardly converging supports 20 of a constructionillustrated to advantage in Fig. l". The beams 18 at. their forward endsare supported by braces 21 and 22 arranged in pairs, the braces 2]. extending forwardly and downwardly in continuation oit the intermediatelongerons 12 and the brace-s 22 forwardly and upwardly in continuationof the lower longerons 13. The corresponding braces of each pair extendinwardly to conjointly support fittings 23 which partly embrace the,respective engine bed beams. Said beams 18 are also braced to the upperlongerons 1l by means of braces 2i. These braces interconnectrespectively the longerons 11 and longer-ons 12 in eontinuation'ot thebraces 2l, the latter being disposed preferably at approximately a i5degree angle to the horizontal whereby the forward streamlines vof thesedan body are produced. i

Radiator supports 25 are dropped down 95 from the forward ends of thebeams 18 to function with braces 2G as the supporting ine-ans for theradiator 27 of the power plant. rflic motor ofthe power plant l havedesignated in its entirety by the numeral 10o 28. Longitudinallyextending metallic strips 2f) and 30 vbrace the radiator and at the-sametime support the hood oit the motor herein designated 31. if' desired.the hood 31 may be made removable in much the same 105 nanner as thehood oit an autoinobileengine.

'Access to the motor is thus obtained.

lnteriorly the sedan body is equipped with seats 32, 33 and 3i. Theseats 3:2 and 33. are arranged side by side and symmetrically withrespect to the fore and att axes of vthe craft and 'the seat. 34 inadvance of the Seats B2 and 33, the latter lying substnntially directlyabove said axis. All Seats are entirely and completely inclosed 116within the sedan body which, to eileetually protect the pilot and thepassengers against the elements, is completely .inelosed lt is alsointeriorly finished for ease and Com- 'ort during flight. Celluloid 35is used 120 rather than glass at points where transparency is desired.it one side of the sedanl body (or both sides it desired) a door 36 isprovided. Said door opens outwardly preterably in the plane oftheforward seat 34. 325

The flooring 37 ot Athe sedan body is 'fastened directly to the lowerhorizontally extending body struts 16 and extends preferably from theengine section.rearwardly to a point beneath partition 38 arranged Nothe vertica @essere to transversely divide the body into separatecompartments. The intermediate compartment adords accommodation for thepilot and paengers and the rear compartment space for at least a'portionof theI transmission means. @ther appropriate interior equipment commonto the limousine and sedan types of automobiles may be installed.

The low location of the motor 28 obviously necessitates that thepropeller aXis be elevated above the horizontal plane of the axis o themotor crank shaft 39. The crankshaft it will be noted extends rearwardlyfrom the motor through the sedan body, bearings 40 being providedtherefor. Said shaft 39 terminates rearwardly beyond the vertical planeof the partition 38 to support aft of said partition a relatively l widepulley il the peri hehof which is circumferentially groove ese groovesextend parallel and each is designed to receive one of a plurality oftransversely corrugated leather belts 42, the belts collectivelyconstituting an appropriate belt drive of unusual strength, lightnessand reliability. A. second and relatively wide pulley 43 is mounteddirectly above the pulley 41, the axis of rotation of the ulley 43extending i" 'Palalel to the axis of t e pulley 41. Sai

pulley 43 is mounted upon the drive or propeller shaft A The bearingsfor the proT palier shaft l have designated e and 46. he 'bearin 426 isdisposed rearrnost and in plane or the stern post 14: directly overwhich it is disposed. Forwardly extending braces a? brace said bearing46. -Extra heavy cross or body struts 48 and 49 sup rt the bearings and4,5 since it is at t is point that the strain is imposed upon the bodyof the craft during operation in the air. ln this connection'it willalso be noted that the intermediate longerons 19; are cross braced onlyin the vicinity of the belting 42 and at their extreme forward end.

A covering 50 for that portion of the shaft -39 extending through thesedan body is provided. This covering is preferably rectanguiar incrosssection an of suicient size and strength to serve as a sup ort forthe forward or pilots seat 34 an as a brace tor the rear seats 32 and33, although the latter are equipped with supporting seat rails 51 and asupporting diaphragm 52. Said covering 50 is symmetrical about thelongitudinal axis ot the craft and so arranged with rpect to the seats32, 33 and 3e as to in no way interfere with the foot and leg space ofthe occupants.

Above the sedan body and streamlined as a unit therewith ll have locatedthe 'fuel tank 53, the center of the tank lying,I a proximately in thetransverse vertical p ane ot the center of gravity ot the craftdesignated CG. A partition 5e divides the tank space from that spaceoccupied by the pulley t3. Said pantition also functions as a brace orsupport for the streamlined covering 55. This covering 55 is preferablyof light sheet metal although doped fabric with a supporting frameworkof wood may be used.

For a decrease in resistance incident to flight that portion of thecovering 55 at opposite sides of the shaft 44 may be perfectlystreamlined, thus leaving a mid-section 56 of less perfect streamlinewithin which the pulley 43 and the shaft 44 are inclosed. rll`hecovering formation is illustrated advantageously in Figs. l and 3.

To increase the eective streamline of the bottom of the sedan 'body 10door frames 57 are provided. rlhese frames are of successivelydecreasing depth from the forward end of the body aft and to etherconstitute a supporting framework or the metallic bottom coverin 58 ofthe craft. rlhis cov- @ring 58 like tile covering 55, may be constructedof wood and fabric. The door frames 57 preferably underlie thehorizontal cross struts 16, said covering, however, continuing forwardbeneath the engine section of the body without a break in the continuity'of said covering from the forward end aft.

Aeroplane wingsextending out laterally from the vertical plane of thetore and att axis of the craft constitute together a triplane structure,the upper plane 59 and the intermediate plane 60 of which have a greaterspread or span thanthe lower plane 61. The wings of the upper planeextend right and left from the apices of A bracesl 62 erected on top ofthe body 10; the intermediate wings right and left from said bodyadjacent the top, and the lower-wings right and left from said bodyadjacent the bottom thereof. The lower wings make a dihedral angle.Alined wing posts 63 interbrace the wings of the triplane structure.Said sts,

together with posts 64. erected to interorace the intermediate and upperplanes, truss the triplane structure throughout..y Cross arranged wires65 are also used in the forms,- tion of this truss.

The empennage of the craft, comprising the usual vertical rudder 66,elevator flaps 67, vertical stabilizer 68 and horizontal stabilizer 69,is supported out from the bod of the craft in the plane of the intermeinte Wings by spars 70 disposed symmetrically at oppositel sides of thebody 10, one spar extending rearwardly from each wing of theintermediate plane. Wires 7l, 72 and 73 bra the empennage, they wires 71interconnectin the spars and the upper planes, the wires 2 the spars andthe lower plane, and

the wires 73 the upper plane and the engine Md in addition to.' the mainplanes or triplaue Structure, auxiliary supporting planes or mediate andlower longerons.

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absorber elastics stub Wings 74? extend out laterali from the enginesection ot the body. Sind wings make a dihedral angle comiesponding'with the dihedral angle of the lower Wings of the triplane, structure.This arrangement necessarily brings the resultant center of aeroplanelift somewhat forv'ard so as to lie properly in the approximatetransverse vertical plane ot' the center of gravity CG. he use ofauxiliary planeslor stub wings 74 is necessary in View of the forwardlydisposed motor.

The wing beams of the intermediate and lower wings of the triplanestructure are built intimately into the sedan body. Beams 75 constitutethe foundation for the intermediatewings and extend intermediatelyacross said body so as to rest upon the upper longerons 11`t0 which thebeams are fastened as indicated at 7 6. lower` wings, designated 7T,extend intermediately through said body adjacent the bottom thereof,preferably between the inter- Braces 78 truss the forward beams 7T ofthe lower wings radially (see Fig. 0). llloreover, said beams 77 supportbearings for the shaft. 39. The beams ot the stub wings Hgwhile they donot extend through the body of the craft, are founded directly upon theengine bed beams 18, sockets 79 being provided for that purpose. 'loincrease the strength said stub wings are braced as indicated at 80. tothe landing gear.-

For increased longitudinal stability during land travel, the machine isequipped with longitudinally spaced., and independently actin pairs otlanding gear Wheels. The forwarc pair of wheels underlie the motor andthe stub wings and the aft pairunderlie the lower plane of the triplanestructure. Said stub wings and the wings of the said lower lanel thusfunction conjointly as mud guards. Appropriate landing gear struts 81 ofsubstantially U-form (the extensions ot' each strut. being streamlinedas a unit) mount thea'ear landing gear wheels 82, an axle S3 of coursebeing provided. Shock (not shown) support the axle 83 to cushion theimpact of landing. The struts 81 of the rear portion 82 of the landinggear are fastened by any suitable means directly t0 the lower longerons13 of the body, the point of fastening lying preierably in the verticalplane ot the beams 77 of the lower wings to increase strength. BracesSi. with this in view, are interposed between the. lower longerons 13and the. torward beams of the lower Wings.

Like the rear landing gear Wheels, the forward landing gear wheels 85are mounted on an axle 86 movable relatively to supporting struts 87 ofsubstantially U-orm. 'lhe extensions ot these struts 87 are streamlinedas a unit and fastened directly to the The beams of the assente enginebed beams 18 adjacent the forward end thereof. Shock absorber elastic-s(not shown) are to be provided in this Connection also. l? or road 0rground use the front landing gear wheels are .equipped with steeringknuckles 8.8 (see Fig. 8) and the knuckles connected by a' rod 89 forsimultaneous movement. Ears are formed on the rod 89 adjacent itsopposite ends to which e011-, trol leads 91 are fastened. "These leadsextend inwardly from the res ective ears 90 to engage with pulleys 92,'l ing cross' arranged,`and thence extend rearwardly and slightlyupwardly for connection (see Fig. 4) to a bar 93 rigidly united by meansof -a pivot pin 91 to the foot bar 95 of the control mechanism'. Thisbar 95 is mounted in advance ot the pilots seat .3i beneath the covering50 and is of sufficient length to extend laterali through openings 96beyond the sides o the housing. The rudder leads 97 for operating thevertical rudder 66 are also to the bar 93. By this arrangement thesteering Wheels and the rudder 6G are. moved opposltely and in unison.Lateral balance. of the craft is obtained through manipulation oftrailing edge ailerons 98 mounted respectively adjacent the tips of theupper and intermediate planes. Said ailerons are interconnected as at 99and controlled manipulation of aileron leads 100 arranged te follow theup er plane inwardly to the body of the cra t and thence forwardly tothe control wheel 101. The control is of the Deperdussin type and corn-10U prises in addition to the wheel 101 a column 102 and column support103, the column being oscillatable fore and aft to operate the elevatorcont-rol leads 101. With a' view to safety a tail skid 105 may beprovided at the 105 outer end of the tail structure. beneath theempennage. The propeller 106 operates between the rearwardly extendingspars 70 aft of the body 10, hence the machine is of the pusher type.

An aeroplane characterized as herein set forth possesses individualityand advantages heretofore unattained. lf desired. the supportingsurfaces and the tail structure may be shed as a unit and the machinethereafter operated as an air driven land craft or automobile. lyconstructing the sedan body after the fashion disclosed the headresistance incident to flight is minimized and the l equipment of thecraft fully protected against the elements. l `urthermore, thearrangement ot the supporting planes is such that. access may be had tothe interior ot' the sedan body without contact with said lanes.

Although l have described more or less precise forms and details ofconstriu'tion, l do not intend to be understood as limiting myselilthereto as l contemplate changes in forni, the proportion of parts andthe substi- Virs tution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest orrender expedient and Without de-Y parting from the spirit of theinvention as claimed.

`What is claimed is:

l. Iii an airplane, a body, a motorinelosed within the body at or nearits forward end, a pusher propeller, a propeller shaft likewise inclosedwithin the body, the longitudinal horizontal plane of its axis beingvertically removed from the corresponding plane of the fore and aft aXisof the motor, seats inclosed within .the body, that portion of the bodyinclosing the seats being deeperand wider than that portion inclosingthe motor, a shaft projecting rearwardly from the m0- tor beneath the'seats, the shaft being inclosed within the body, and transmission meansinterconnecting the last mentioned shaft and the propeller shaft, thetransmission means being also-inclosed Within the body.

2. In an airplane, a body, supporting surfaces, a motor inclosed Within'the body at or near its forward end, a pusher propeller, an outriggedtail structure carried by the supporting surfaces, a propeller shaftinclosed within the body, the longitudinal horizontal plane of the axisof the propeller shaft being vertically removed from the correspondingplane of the fore and aft axis of the motor, seats for occupantsinclosed within the body, that portion of the body in which the seatsare arranged being deeper and wider than that portion of the bodyinclosed in the motor, a shaft projecting rearwardly from the motorbeneath the seats, the shaft beinfgl inclosed within the body, andtransmission means intei'coiinect-ing the last mentioned shaft and thepropeller shaft, the

transmission means being also inclosed with-` in the body aft of theseats.

3. In an airplane, a body, a motor inclosed within the body at or nearits forward end, a pusher propeller, a propeller shaft inclosed withinthe body, the longitudinal horizontal plane of the axis of the propellershaft being vertically removed from the cor-A responding plane of thefore and aft axis of the motor, seats for occupants inclosed within thebody, a shaft projecting rearwardly from the motor beneath the seats,the shaft being inclosed within the body, a fuel tank inclosed withinthe body and situated directly above the seats, and transmission meansinterconnecting the last mentioned shaft and the propeller shaft, thetransmission means being inclosed within the body and situated aft ofthe seats.

4. In an aeroplane, a body comprising,r a skeleton framework of.substantially constant depth throughout a portion of its length, theremaining portion of its length being characterized by depthconsiderably less than the depth of said first mentioned .meansinterconnecting the last mentioned portion, a motor inclosed in thatportion of said body having;r minimum depth, seats inclosed in thatportion of said body having maximum depth, a. pusher propeller mountedin a plane above that of the motor, and a driving connection rearwardlyextending from the motorto the propeller, said connection lying closelyYadjacent the bottoni of the body to a point aft of the seats, from whichpoint it extends upwardly to the propeller; said connection throughoutits full length being completely inclosed in said body.

5. In an airplane, a body, supporting surfaces arranged to project outlaterally from the body, a motor inclosed within the body at or nearitsforward end, a pusher propeller, an outriggedtail structure carriedby the supporting surfaces, the said structure including spars arrangedrespectively at opposite sides of the propeller, a. propeller shaftextended into the body, the longitudi nal horizontal lane of the axis ofthe propeller shaft being vertically removed from the correspondingplane of the fore and aft axis of the motor, seats for occupantsinclosed within the body, a shaft projecting rearwardly from the motor,the shaft being inclosed within the body, and transmission shaft and theropeller shaft, the transmission means being inclosed within the bodyand situated directly to the rear of that portion of the body Withinwhich the seats are arranged.

6. In an aeroplane, a body comprising a .skeleton framework interiorlydivided into compartments, a motor inclosed in the foremost compartmentof said body, seats inclosed in one of the compartments aft of theforemost compartment, a pusher propeller` and a driving connectionbetween the motor and propeller, said connection being inclosed for itsmajor part in oneV of the compartments aft of the seat compartment il@although extended for. a portion of its length beneath said compartmentcontaining said seats.

7. In an aeroplane, an inclosed body, seats arranged respectively intandem and at opposite sidesof the fore and aft axis of said body, amotor, a pusher propeller, and transmission means inclosed Within saidbody for rearward extension from said motor beneath said seats. 8. Anaeroplane body comprising a 'plurality of pairs of longerons, theuppermost pair of longrons terminating forwardly short of the lower pairoflongerons and the pair of longerons next adjacent thereto, and meansdiagonally interconnecting the upper pair of longe-rons and the pair oflongerons next adjacent the bottom pair.

S), Au. aeroplane body comprising three pairsl of longerons, theintermediate pair of longerons terminating forwardly in substantiallythe vertical plane of the Jforward end of the lower longerons andrearwardly in substantially the vertical plane of the rear end of theupper longerons, said upper lon erons and said lower longeronsterminating respectively, and at opposite ends, short of theintermediate longerons for the product-ion of a sedan type body ofstreamline form.

l0. An aeroplane body comprising a plurality of superposed pairs oflongerons horizontally'bowed and rearwardly tapered for intersection atthe after end of said body, the lower longerons terminating rearwardlyshortof the upper longerons'and short of the longerons next adjacentthereto, and means continuing said lower longerons rearwardly andupwardly for the interconnec-- tion of the several superposed pairs olongerons.

11. An aeroplane body of the sedan type comprising three pairs oflongerons superposed, the intermediate and'lower pairs of longeronsterminating forwardly beyond the vertical plane of the corresponding end.of the upper longerons, means diagonally in- A terconnecting theintermediate and the upper longerons, and an engine bed mounted@nente-nd 'forwardly beyond the plane of the iorward end of the lowerlongerons, the horizontal plane of the engine bed underlying thehorizontal plane of the intermediate iongerons.

12. ln an aeroplane, a body, seats inclosed in the intermediate portionof said body, a motor inclosed in the Jforward portion oi 'saidlbodyg afuel tanlr inclosed within said body above the seat containingcompartment thereof, ac pusher propeller, and transmissionlne'anscompletely inclosed within said body, said transmission meansbeing principally inclosed Within said body aft of the seat containingcompartment thereof.

13. in an aeroplane, a body, including an intermediately located seatcontaining compartment, a Jforwardly'located engine section, and arearwardly located third comparement, a propeller shaft inclosed Withinsaid third compartment, a motor inclosed depth of the body,

naaaaie `cross section decreasing rather abruptly to a substantiallyvertical knife-edge of a depth approximately equal to the maximum amotor inclosed within the body at or near its forward end and A'withinthat portion of the body characterized by minimum depth and crosssectional area, seais inclosed within the body at or near its point ofmaximum cross sectional area, a pusher propeller, a shaft projectingrearwardly from the motor beneath the seats, the shaft being inclosedWithin the body, a propeller' shaft, and transmission means inclosedwithin that portion of the body aft of its point ot maximum crosssectional area, 'the transmission means affording a connection betweenthe propeller shaft and the shaft projecting rearwardly from the motor.v

l5. ln an aeroplane, a body having its forward end reduced in crosssectional area to provide an engine section, a pusher propeller, a motorinclosed in said engine section, a driving connection between the motorand the propeller, longitudinally separated pairs of landing gear wheelsmounted respectively beneath said engine section and that portion oi thebody oi' the maximum cross sectional area, principal supporting lsurfaces arran ed to extend out right and left from said ody directlyabove the rearmost. landing gear wheels, and lauxiliary supportingsurfaces of relatively small area arranged to extend ont rightand lei-tfrom the engine. section directly above the orward landing gear wheels.

in ltestimony whereof l' hereunto aiiix my signature.

' GLENN lil. C'UR'HSS.

